It\u2019s a \u201cmarket shopping\u201d day.\u00a0 We head out after a relaxing morning and taxi to the \u201cSilk Market\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s 5 floors of small shops partitioned with glass walls.\u00a0 Each floor has it\u2019s own identity and similar shops are grouped together.\u00a0 As you walk down the aisle, shop owners are hawking their wares.\u00a0 Some are really aggressive.\u00a0 We learned early not to seem interested as we walked by.\u00a0 Eye contact seemed to indicate you were ready to buy.<\/p>\n
When we did decide to look seriously at an item, the bargaining was fun.\u00a0 Since these people do this everyday for a living, I\u2019m aware I\u2019m not going to \u201cbeat them at their own game\u201d.\u00a0 I just want to make purchases for things we want\/need at a decent price.\u00a0 We were told by some experienced \u201cBeijingers\u201d not to pay more than 20% of their asking price, and be ready to walk away if they wouldn\u2019t come down.\u00a0 We were working on a cashmere sweater, and politely walked out when they wouldn\u2019t meet our price.\u00a0 They tried to politely block our exit, grabbed my arm, and finally let me leave, hollering at me as we walked down the hallway.\u00a0 We were about 10 stalls down the hall when they caught us and said \u201cOK, we ok you price, you killing us\u201d.<\/p>\n
After purchasing a few items, we exited, found a coffee shop with outside tables, and enjoyed the comfortable afternoon, people-watching.\u00a0 With our energy renewed (thank you, caffeine), we jumped in a taxi and headed for the Yashow Market.\u00a0 Enroute, the taxi driver created a stir when he pitched 80y at Judy, before we paid him anything.\u00a0 Since we had agreed upon 20y for the trip (he didn\u2019t turn his meter on when we got in?), I handed him a 100y bill, figuring we were paid up.\u00a0 He looked at the bill and handed it back, muttering under his breath.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure what he was saying.\u00a0 I handed him another bill, he looked at it and handed it back.\u00a0 I kept trying to figure out what was going on.\u00a0 We finally gave him his 80y back, and gave him another 20y for the fare.\u00a0 As we got out, he seemed to be asking if the 20y bill was \u201cgood\u201d.<\/p>\n
We walked into Yashow Market, looking for some more shopping fun.\u00a0 We found some items, bickered on the price, and paid.\u00a0 As we walked away, they chased us down and said the 100y bills we gave them were not good.\u00a0 Apparently there is a lot of counterfeiting going on in Beijing.\u00a0 Every store I\u2019ve shopped in, the clerks carefully check the bills, or there is a machine they feed the bills into that checks them.\u00a0 The market sales people showed us how to check the bills, and I went through all my bills, finding several problems.\u00a0 I got all the bills out of a Bank of China ATM, so I\u2019ll find out Monday how to deal with it.\u00a0 The counterfeit bills explain the consternation of the taxi driver.\u00a0 I had been handing him those bad bills, and since I had several, I kept swapping one bad bill for another.\u00a0 It also explains Judy\u2019s problem Friday night with her taxi driver.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure it was one of the bad bills she tried to give him.<\/p>\n
We finished our shopping excursion, and walked next door to Sanlitun Village.\u00a0 We found a nice place to eat, then headed home.\u00a0 It was a fun day with all the shopping and bargaining.\u00a0 We also learned a valuable lesson about counterfeit bills.\u00a0 I\u2019m curious how the resolution with the Bank of China will go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s a \u201cmarket shopping\u201d day.\u00a0 We head out after a relaxing morning and taxi to the \u201cSilk Market\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s 5 floors of small shops partitioned with glass walls.\u00a0 Each floor has it\u2019s own identity and similar shops are grouped together.\u00a0 … Continue reading